From 8 September 2010 until 13 February 2011 the Fashion Museum in Antwerp, the MoMu, displays a retrospective of Stephen Jones' flamboyant works. The extraordinary British hatmaker celebrates the 30th anniversary of his House, Stephen Jones Millinery at The MoMu, which exhibits the largest Jones hat collection outside Great Britain – with more than 120 one-off items,  it's a must for all fashion lovers.

The exhibition Stephen Jones & The Accent of Fashion (Stephen Jones & Het Accent op Mode) leads you through the exceptional world of a milliner who collaborated with the greatest names in the world-wide fashion scene for almost three decades: Jean Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler, Comme des Garçons, Claude Montana, John Galliano, Christian Dior, Walter Van Beirendonck, Marc Jacobs, the list can go on and on...

THE EXHIBITION

The division of the exhibition into four groups of Adventure, Science, Rococo and Glamour is purely due to the designer's inspiration and taste. The way all the works are displayed is in the hatboxes, tumbles of off-white hatboxes all falling from the top. The first group is about Adventure, whether in time or space and here you can experience a strange feeling of how small you are in comparison with a huge navy blue London hat, which unquestionably catches every visitor's attention. According to Jones, The Science is actually one of his best pieces as it combines physics and art together. Jones' Rococo is all about the asymmetry and that refers not only to the hats but also to the outfits of some of the designers who he has worked with. The last theme British milliner dedicates his passion to within this exhibition is Glamour and that's because hats, first of all, make you look chic and gorgeous.

There are also Stephen's favorite hats of all the times, one cannot miss them because of their irregular size: London bowler, Metallic hat, Organic one made out of wood and a Steel Mask from the "Red Shoes" film. The Mask is Moira Shearer's eyes photo-print, which depicts the moment when the ballet-dancer was asked to make a choice between her life and her art... To know the answer watch the film, it's really worth it!

SECRET OF SUCCESS

Besides Stephen Jones's numerous collaborations with designers, the exhibition also touches upon the design process, the sources of inspiration behind the works as well as his unique relationship with fashion icon Anna Piaggi, who states in the Italian Vogue that Jones is the maker of the most beautiful hats in the world. Among Jones' clientele one can find the names of such celebrities as Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Pink, Gwen Stefani, Beyonce, the burlesque superstar Dita Von Teese and many others.

Three decades have passed, but what remains the same is Stephen Jones' independence and ability to come up with new ideas and that's what certainly makes him so unique. But why are his hats are so special? Perhaps Jones' work is a sculptural genius of transformative powers for the lucky few owners of his art or maybe just because he makes really cool hats. He says that, first of all, a good milliner should be a good listener: "I only need to know why, when and where my client wants to wear my hat, that's all". With only 7 fingers given by birth, Stephen Jones and his Millinery provides the world-wide fashion alphabet with essential punctuation marks that make the fashion statements absolutely complete.

TALENT RECOGNITION

Jones' works are represented nowadays in the permanent collections of the Victoria & Albert museum (London), the Louvre (Paris), The Fashion Institute of Technology and the Brooklyn Museum (both, New York) and the Australian National Gallery (Canberra). What's more, today the success of almost all fashion events such as a runway or a stylish magazine edition or posh private party depends on the presence of Jones' ideas magnificently embodied in his unforgettable hats. |

Entrance Fee:

for students (<26) 1 euro,

for students (>26) 6 euro.

Location:

MoMu

Nationalestraat 28

2000 Antwerpen

http://www.momu.be